About last night: A review of UCLA’s 42-21 loss to Oregon

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Oregon linebacker Justin Hollins (11), runs down and recovers a fumble with the help of linebacker La’Mar Winston Jr. (32), and linebacker Jalen Jelks (97), in the third quarter against UCLA during an NCAA college football game in Eugene, Ore., Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018 (AP Photo/Thomas Boyd)

Chip Kelly’s return to Autzen Stadium didn’t go as the head coach planned as UCLA fell behind 21-0 in the second quarter before losing 42-21. The loss officially dropped the Bruins from bowl contention and guaranteed them their third straight losing season.

A more in-depth review of the game

GOODS

Running game

Joshua Kelley continues to be the brightest spot in yet another losing season for the Bruins. The running back rushed for a career-high 161 yards on 26 carries. It was his fifth 100-yard rushing performance in the past six games. He also added six receptions for 32 yards.

While the left side of the line has typically been the stronger run-blocking side this year, Kelley found some running lanes on the right side as well Saturday, showing that the line is progressing across the board. Kelly’s 25-yard touchdown run in the third quarter came from the right side when Christaphany Murray and Jake Burton opened a big running lane. Once Kelley saw the opening, he took off with nothing but green grass ahead.

After the brief Josh Rosen Era that included pass-happy offenses with no rushing attack, making the 180-degree flip is jarring, but for a team that’s in Year 1 of a new coaching staff, the adjustment will likely be beneficial in the long run. Unless your coach is Mike Leach, a foundation of running the football on offense is generally longer-lasting and more solid than a pass-oriented system. In the first year of Kelly’s tenure, groundwork is the most important thing.

Rushing defense

UCLA allowed 6.98 yards per carry in the previous two games and cut it down to 4.8 yards per carry against Oregon. If not for a 54-yard touchdown run by Tony Brooks-James in the fourth quarter, then the average would have been a stingy 3.5 yards per carry.

Adarius Pickett had a strong day in run support, expertly shooting the game to come up with the fourth-down stop in the third quarter and standing Brooks-James up on a one-on-one tackle in the fourth quarter that prevented the Oregon running back from getting a first down. The UCLA safety had a team-high 11 tackles, but was guilty of one of the many special teams gaffes that may somewhat cloud the perception of his game overall. That was the second time in as many games that he’s muffed a punt and was replaced by Theo Howard.

BADS (besides special teams, because that was obviously very bad)

Turnover margin

The Bruins have are minus-5 in turnover margin in the past two games and were minus-3 against Oregon. The Ducks turned every one of the mistakes into a touchdown. The muffed punt and Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s fumble set Oregon up inside the 10-yard line. The Ducks didn’t have much trouble punching those in. The other turnover, Thompson-Robinson’s interception, occurred in the end zone, which was a potential 14-point swing as the Bruins walked away from a red zone trip without any points.

Penalties

The Bruins had 11 penalties to Oregon’s one. UCLA had four false starts on offense and one on special teams. Three of the four offensive false starts happened on third down. For the second straight week, a special teams jump cost the Bruins a chance at a more make-able field goal at the end of the first half.

The crowd noise surely played a role in the false starts. On the TV replay, you can hear a shrill whistle right before Josh Wariboko-Alali jumped on the field goal try.

While Kelly said learning how to handle the crowd in a hostile environment is part of life with a young team, it wasn’t just young players who were guilty of miscues. Christaphany Murray was called for one false start, but Andre James, the most experienced player the Bruins have on offense in terms of starts, flinched once and Howard, the team’s most reliable receiver in recent weeks, flinched twice.

UCLA actually outgained the Oregon 496-492, had nine more first downs, ran the ball better (5.2 yards per carry to 4.8) and won time of possession, but small mistakes in all facets of the game made what could have been a close game a rout. Between special teams, turnovers, penalties, missed tackles (like the one from Krys Barnes on the fake field goal) and drops (Caleb Wilson and Demetric Felton were guilty for the second straight week) the lack of execution made the game seem like one of those scratch-your-eyes-out struggles. But hidden beneath some of those mistakes was a team that could have easily been competitive with Oregon in one of the most difficult environments in the Pac-12. But “could have” doesn’t count for anything in the wins column.

GO FIGURE

1 UCLA sack in the past three games

3 of Theo Howard’s five catches on the day came on the UCLA’s final drive. The junior receiver was a nonfactor for most of the night.

Thuc Nhi Nguyen has covered UCLA for the Southern California News Group since 2016. A proud Seattle native, she majored in journalism and mathematics at the University of Washington. She likes graphs, animated GIFs and superheroes.